A liquid crystal panel as a major component of a liquid crystal display device is conventionally constructed as follows: A liquid crystal layer of the liquid crystal panel is provided between a pair of glass substrates, and a frame-like sealant portion for sealing the liquid crystal layer is formed to surround the liquid crystal layer.
A vacuum injection method is known as a conventional method for forming the liquid crystal layer between the substrates. According to the vacuum injection method, the substrates are attached to each other so that a sealant portion is provided therebetween. Thereafter, the sealant portion is hardened, and an inlet provided on the sealant portion is dipped in a liquid crystal material under the vacuum environment. Then, the environment is returned to the air pressure, and thereby the liquid crystal material intrudes between the substrates.
On the other hand, a one-drop-fill method described in Patent Document 1 below has recently been drawing attention as a technique adapted for the growing size of liquid crystal panels. According to the one-drop-fill method, a frame-like sealant portion is applied on one of the substrates. Thereafter, under the vacuum environment, a liquid crystal material is dropped on the substrate, and then the other substrate is attached thereto. The environment is thereafter returned to the air pressure. Thus, a liquid crystal layer is formed between the substrates. Compared to the vacuum injection method, the one-drop-fill method has the advantage of large reduction in consumption of the liquid crystal material, and further has the advantage of reduction in processing time.    Patent Document 1: JP-A-2005-173067